Six Six Science - Space & Aeronautics Agency Archive [craftfile updated 2016-04-25]

[Kagame]

Erh mah gerd that Moray is beautiful.

[Frank_G]

I find the looks of a craft almost as important as its efficiency. Thank you!

[Frank_G]

Tweakend Episode II.

While my latest spaceplane is nice for station construction and heavy cargo hauling, it is far to expensive to launch it with only a tiny satellite. So today i started to build a miniaturized version of it. Here are the first working experiment: The Stingray Micro I. So far it puts everything you can fit into the cargo bay into a 100 km circular orbit, but i am not satisfied with orbital delta V values. I will try to get it up there with round about 500 m/s of delta V left. Currently it is at 380 m/s.

So far it flies even more stable than its larger brother and comes with lots of extra TWR. It passed 1.600 m/s in jet mode on its first unladen testflight and circularized at 120 km at ease with liquid fuel to spare for a nice powered landing.

[edit] Learned something today. Shock cone intakes produce less drag at high velocity than any other intake... I got extra delta V and a whole lot more liquid fuel to orbit just by changing the intakes. If i can get that additional extra LF some O, than the craft delivers as desired... Special thanks to hazard-ish for pointing me at the intake advantage!

Edited August 1, 2015 by Frank_G

[Frank_G]

Started to overhaul the craftfiles in preparation for the release of 1.1. I also added the Moray Delta IV cargo-lifter SSTO spaceplane. Enjoy!

[Frank_G]

Added Kerbin Orbital One space station, including all subassemblies and utility craft.

[Frank_G]

Added Dune-Bug micronized surface exploration rover.

[Frank_G]

Uploaded the Ares I-K Launcher and Orbital Utility Vehicle craftfile. Have fun

[Frank_G]

Added the Ares II-K Download. Have fun.

[Frank_G]

Added the latest and last iteration of the Ares I launcher. The old Ares I and the Ares II have been moved to the archive section at the bottom of the craftfile post. Enjoy!

[sabreheim]

I see that these are labelled as for 1.05. do you plan to move them to 1.1?

[Frank_G]

Yes, as soon, as 1.1 gets its official release. But the craft already should work out of the box in 1.1 prerelease.

[Frank_G]

Added the Diamondback Raider armored all terrain vehicle. Have fun

[Waxing_Kibbous]

Dude...

These look like they were made using construx (the far superior building toy I might add ) Wow is all I have to say, I feel like a cro-magnon building my stuff with rocks and sticks compared to these Thanks for the craft files- do you have any clever tips or tricks to make these things come together so well, or to do things that your not supposed to do (I'm looking at the 4 command pod thing here).

[Frank_G]

You´re welcome! Thanks a lot.

Its just going over the same thing again and again, until it is satisfying from both efficiency and looks without losing the original purpose. The capsule you are talking about, has been built, rebuilt and modified at least 4 or 5 times, each time with a slightly different approach (look at the three pictures above, where you see 3 different versions of the Ares replica. The first is close to the look, the second is good in function, but only the last one meets all requirements - thats the usual way i go).

I try to approach a design as simple as possible. Crafts get pretty ugly fast, when you mix and clip dozens of parts, where 2 other parts would have been sufficient. I choose parts that support the desired form best. F.e. using rounded radiator panels instead of flat plating for the capsule.

Edited April 17, 2016 by Frank_G

[Frank_G]

Found some time to continue work on the Von Braun / Constellation Duna Lander. I finally decided to move back from a 3.75 m to a 2.5 m profile again, as the large design only added weight and parts, without offering any massive increase in functionality. Here is the WIP, i´ve been working on over the week.

The new 2.5 m Duna Konstellation Mk. VII Landing vehicle:

The habitat and science complex is transported in the rear payload bay. Rover wheels and a probe core allow fully automated deployment:

Habitat / Science section deployed from its storage on the back of the lander and docked into place:

Deploying Duna Ascent Vehicle cover - different thruster settings assure, that the cover moves safely away from the lander:

Launching from the landing vehicle - The new DAV provides 1750 m/s of dV - my best and smallest 4 Kerbal DAV so far. Separatrons propel the DAV away from the lander, before the main engines ignite for orbital ascent:

Next will be the construction of the surface rover. It will be fitted into the frontal payload bay.

Edited April 24, 2016 by Frank_G
Added another picture and more infos.

[Frank_G]

Closeup of the habitat / science module. The asymmetric arrangement allowed for a shorter storage profile. It might not be the most comfortable habitat, but the surface mission will only last a few days, so it will be sufficient.

[Frank_G]

Added a working stock loading ramp to the lander. Now i need to figure out, how to redock it, after its being deployed. It doesnt need to close again, but i want it to be part of the craft again, after the deployment, so it can survive time warp and scene switching.

Sadly, i will have to wait until the landing legs are fixed. As they are now, i cant determine the true deployment angle - or nothing to really rely on.

Edited April 24, 2016 by Frank_G

[Majorjim!]

Nice work on that lander dude! 

 I'm working on my horizontal landers at the moment. Are you planning on making the rest of the constellation craft? I saw you have a nice looking ares1 too. 

 Your front ramp, is it a separate craft or is it pushed down by the legs flexing on ant engines? 

 I haven't had any issues with separated parts and time warp and scene changes like you mentioned. 

 Keep up the good work mate!

Edited April 24, 2016 by Majorjim

[Frank_G]

Thank you very much!

To answer your questions: it will not be a Constellation recreation mission. Yes, i use a lander that was heavily inspired by the Constellation mission and the Ares I will deliver the crew to orbit, but the transfer vehicle will be more close to Von Brauns Mars mission concept.

The horizontal lander will sit on the front inside the fairing. The midship cargo rack will carry an Ike lander and if i can make the concept work right, i will take an assemblable solar ion glider along (the wings can be taken off - a second version has wings that break up into two parts each). It currently works, but not to a satisfying degree.

The loading ramp is currently a separate craft. I have a münar lander, that has a deployable ramp that reattaches itself, using jr docking ports, but they take up too much space in a 2.5 m profile, like my Constellation lander. If you like to take a look, you can download the ramp subassembly here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/462a722pryr4gad/Loading%20Ramp.craft?dl=0

And thanks a lot for hinting me towards pushing the ramp down with a landing leg. I will give it a try

Edited April 25, 2016 by Frank_G
Added additional info and link

[Majorjim!]

That transfer vehicle looks great man. My DTV has similar looking docking nodes, nice choice! ;-)

 I have my own way of making the ramp, but thanks for sharing yours, I'm sure someone will find it useful! I look forward to seeing it all come together man.

[Frank_G]

Flight and function tests of the Rhino Mk. II Konstellation lander.

Landing & flight stability tests - On Kerbin the craft can perform not much more than a suicide burn, but it will be totally sufficient for Duna landings.

Deployment and functionality test. Also batterie capacity and solar array efficiency have been checked, if they are sufficient to power the habitat for the duration of Dunas nights.

10 hours ago, Majorjim said:

That transfer vehicle looks great man. My DTV has similar looking docking nodes, nice choice! ;-)

 I have my own way of making the ramp, but thanks for sharing yours, I'm sure someone will find it useful! I look forward to seeing it all come together man.

Thank you! I hope to see some of your 1.1 Constellation craft some time :). I checked some of your craft, which used the "thermometer ant hinge". 1.1 seems to have different or buggy collision checks. THe landing gear is messed up for sure... it wobbles and it blows up some times... i hope we will see a hotfix on this issue soon.

[Majorjim!]

Just now, Frank_G said:

Flight and function tests of the Rhino Mk. II Konstellation lander.

Landing & flight stability tests - On Kerbin the craft can perform not much more than a suicide burn, but it will be totally sufficient for Duna landings.

 

Deployment and functionality test. Also batterie capacity and solar array efficiency have been checked, if they are sufficient to power the habitat for the duration of Dunas nights.

 

Thank you! I hope to see some of your 1.1 Constellation craft some time :). I checked some of your craft, which used the "thermometer ant hinge". 1.1 seems to have different or buggy collision checks. THe landing gear is messed up for sure... it wobbles and it blows up some times... i hope we will see a hotfix on this issue soon.

It is so exciting to see someone else testing a horizontal lander! Good luck with the rest of the build and mission matey.

 Yeah sadly the update killed ant hinges but I made a replacement here.

 I just got my ascent lander six motors to drain fuel equally and more importantly I stopped my LT-2s from vibrating, just strut to them. If you find that struts do not want to attach to the legs place a part below the lowered leg and strut to that. The strut will attach to the first part it hits which will be the leg. They are still stupidly weak though during landing and do need to be fixed. At least I can load the thing onto the pad without it destroying the pad!

[Frank_G]

Horizontal landers are fun! So different to fly and so much more useful than vertical designs. And they look awesome.

Thank you for showing your new hinge design. I will give it a try and i will try strutting the landing gear. Currently, the rear gear is kicking like a mule...

Originally i had six motors in mind myself (inspired from the awesome NASA Constellation Mars Mission on YouTube), but i stripped two of them away, as i just dont need the thrust. The current design is already far too overpowered for such a small and light craft (got a TWR of 8 / 12.5 on Duna, so one LV-T45 engine would have been more than enough... but i want those large bells and lots of ´em). To assure equal fuel consumption, i have used 4 FL-T200 tanks, that feed fuel to the DAV tanks. That keeps the craft at balance and the DAV tanks full for ascent.

I really hate, how deep the new landing gear sinks into the pad and the ground... totally unsure, how much clearance is needed below the craft, to not slam the engines into the ground...

edit: Strutting the landing leg works like a charm! Thanks a lot

Edited April 25, 2016 by Frank_G
Added success report

[Majorjim!]

Just now, Frank_G said:

edit: Strutting the landing leg works like a charm! Thanks a lot

Sweet! Glad to hear it helped man.

 Yeah the sinking feet is ugly but is apparently just a visual issue and the feet are actually pushing against the surface.

[Frank_G]

50 minutes ago, Majorjim said:

....Yeah sadly the update killed ant hinges but I made a replacement here.......

Your hinge not only works, it is also very reliable... incredible and simple design. But still i hope, we will get a controllable stock rotating joint some time in the future.